


The Night Is Crawling Through My Eyes

by keepitdreamin



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Daredevil Bingo, F/F, Gen, Post-Season/Series 02, i never slept better
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-02
Packaged: 2018-08-07 10:38:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7711789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keepitdreamin/pseuds/keepitdreamin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karen hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in a long time. Something about Claire helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Night Is Crawling Through My Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This is for my “I Never Slept Better” square for Daredevil Bingo. I took a (very) different take on it from the show because I want Karen to have happy, sleepy cuddles.
> 
> Title from “Gravel to Tempo” by Hayley Kiyoko which has nothing to do with this fic but I love it so much.

Let it be clear that Karen has not forgiven Matt Murdock. Not for lying to her ‘for her own protection’ (she had to swallow back a hysterical laugh at that because she can still feel a gun in her hands and that look of surprise as blood stained a pristine shirt), not for the fiasco that was their short-lived relationship (for leading her to believe that everything would be okay and not communicating so she felt the blame), not for how he handled Frank’s case (and not for how he treated Foggy during it), and certainly not for the dissolution of Nelson and Murdock (she had been _happy_ there and it still hurts to think of the lunches they all shared the food their clients brought).

So Karen doesn’t forgive Matt, and she definitely isn’t his friend (doesn’t know if she _wants_ to be friends after everything, even if she does one day forgive him). But… she does work with Daredevil on stories sometimes. It’s awkward, to say the least, but it’s also easier to interact this way- when they both know the limits and the lines they _cannot_ cross with each other. She doesn’t deal with Matt Murdock (“can’t” she told him, can’t look at him outside of the Daredevil suit without being overwhelmed with tainted memories and emotions), so Daredevil will bring her pertinent information in person, always at night and usually at her apartment.

Karen doesn’t mind the odd hours because it’s not like she’s sleeping anyway. She hasn’t had a _good_ night’s sleep since the Union Allied Scandal (certainly not helped by Fisk and the shooting and Ben and The Hand); usually, she’s woken up by nightmares after a few hours and, unable to go back to sleep, ends up working. She _wants_ to sleep all night uninterrupted, but she’s only found that relief when blackout drunk, which isn’t a feasible or safe long term plan. The one time she tried medication, she ended up drifting, still conscious but unable to really move and that scares her too much to try again. So she struggles through nightmares and sleepless nights and works hard and maybe she’s not _good_ but she thinks she’s doing alright, all things considered.

This arrangement, Daredevil coming around with crucial information and distracting her from the sleep she’s not getting, works great until the day he shows up _bleeding_ and Karen might kind of freak out on him a little (okay, a lot, she freaks out a _lot_ because he’s _injured_ and acting like it’s _nothing_ ). He agrees to call Claire just to calm her down, even while insisting that it’s not too bad, and he is perfectly capable of dealing with it on his own at home.

This is how Karen and Claire finally meet, with Karen still panicked but collected enough to listen to the information he’s giving her, and Claire, just coming off a shift at the clinic, slightly annoyed by the unnecessary call but otherwise in a relatively good mood (she jokes that it’s a nice turn of pace to see Matt when he’s _not_ actively dying, which surprises a laugh out of Karen and a pout from Matt). They bond, not quite instantly but quickly, over making fun of Matt/Daredevil in front of him (he puts up with his ‘stoic’ face, which just earns some more mocking), and when they part, it’s tired but overall, friendly.

Later, Karen thinks that she gets what Foggy said about Matt always finding the hottest people now because Claire is just _wow_.

-

The first time Matt _calls_ her instead of dropping by, it’s from Claire’s apartment, and Karen’s out the door before he even hangs up. They spend a few hours on Claire’s couch, hashing over the information he has on some corrupt city official and the best ways to legally verify it enough to publish, while Claire fixes him up and shuts down some of the most ludicrous suggestions (Matt doesn’t have a frame of reference for feasible, not overly dangerous plans, and Karen is really not all that better). After they’ve done all the can for the night and it’s been determined that Matt will be fine, he and Claire start cleaning up while Karen curls up and writes in her notebook. She’s exhausted though and ends up drifting off pretty quickly to the sound of their companionable arguing.

Karen wakes up in the morning after a rare decent night’s sleep (it was probably at most 4 hours, but there weren’t any nightmares so she’s pretty rested) underneath a slightly scratchy but warm afghan. Claire’s already up, getting ready for work and making coffee, which she offers to Karen when she sleepily pads into the kitchen.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to crash here last night,” Karen apologizes when she’s finally feeling human enough to talk.

Claire shrugs, “It’s okay. It’s kind of nice to have people over who I don’t have to check for concussion every hour so...” She cracks a smile around her coffee cup, and Karen grins back.

-

It’s not even a week later that they run into each other at a coffee shop (Claire on her way home from visiting some family on her off days, and Karen fueling up after a marathon writing session) and end up talking till long after they’re muffins have been picked to crumbs and refills of coffee have cooled. They become friends, independent of Matt/Daredevil, pretty quickly after that. Neither of them has any expectations or preconceived notions of who the other is or should be, and it’s _good_ to have a friend you don’t have to lie to and can empathize with what you’ve been through.

Coffee transitions into lunches and dinners and staying in with takeout and movies or Netflix (they very carefully avoid the heavier shows- no Orange is the New Black for them- working their way through some classic comedies- The Office, Parks & Rec, Scrubs- and some newer ones- Sirens, Jane the Virgi). Karen ends up crashing at Claire’s fairly often because she sleeps better there (still not that long but mostly nightmare-free), on that not-quite-comfortable couch with the scratchy afghan, than in her own place.

-

The first time Claire sleeps over at _her_ place, it’s after a night of drinking with Jessica and Trish (Trish doesn’t actually drink, but Jessica drank enough for both of them several times over). Karen’s never really had good female friends before and now she has several who are all fucked up in their own ways and also really fucking strong and it’s _amazing_. They make up the couch for Claire, both fairly drunk (they’d be worse but they realized how futile it was to try to keep up with Jessica early on and slowed down), but Claire still makes them brush their teeth and drink water to combat the impending hangover before going to bed.

Karen wakes up a few hours later, shaking, with a scream caught in her throat like usual. Except, not, because Claire’s there, holding her steady and rubbing her back as she cries. When Karen’s calmed down enough, Claire coaxes her into drinking some water, but never once even attempts to leave her alone. They’re exhausted, in that place between drunk and hungover, and they both drift off a while later, cuddled together on Karen’s bed.

Karen doesn’t wake up again till mid-morning, warm and content in Claire’s arms. She’s comfortable and rested and doesn’t really want to move, so she drifts and pretends to be totally asleep till Claire huffs a little laugh against her neck, “Think we should talk about this?”

Karen sighs and wiggles a little closer, “Later?”

Claire hums in consideration before tightening her arm around Karen’s waist. “Later,” she says like a promise, and they lounge around in bed till they can’t ignore their rumbling stomachs and pounding heads any longer.

They drag themselves out of bed and down to the diner on the next block, where they order heaps of greasy food and complain that they’re too old for this nonsense. It’s nice and comfortable and Karen’s surprised to find that she’s genuinely _happy_ for the first time in a while.

Her smile must be pretty dopey because Claire looks up at her and grumps, “What?”

“Nothing,” Karen beams, knocking their knees together under the table, and Claire rolls her eyes but smiles back.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this and honestly can’t remember for sure if Karen and Claire interacted on the show. No right? If they did, just pretend they didn’t and met here.
> 
> In other news, I am at college!! I'm still New Student Orientation right now and it's pretty hectic, but I found some time to relax in my downtime.
> 
> (also fun note, I'm at Barnard College which is the women's college associated with Columbia University, aka where Matt and Foggy went)
> 
> [Come encourage me to write on Tumblr!](http://www.keepitdreamin.tumblr.com)


End file.
